In the article we will get acquainted with the most prominent English thinkers who shaped and developed philosophy as a science from the time of the Middle Ages to the present day. Their work had a fundamental impact on the direction of ideas throughout Europe.
English philosophers Alcuin, John Scott Eriugen. Early middle ages
English philosophy as a separate branch of knowledge originated in the Middle Ages. The specifics of English thinking was first formed by the natives of Britain Alcuin and John Scott Eriugen.
Monk Alkuin - the theologian, scholar and poet - received a brilliant education at York School, which he later headed. After meeting with Charles the Great in Rome in 781, he was brought close to the court and founded the Palace Academy, which became the state center of education. Alkuin founded the best scriptorium in Europe at that time, led an active social life, was a political adviser, participated in theological discussions, developed the English philosophical school. Among his many works, the most outstanding are “Faith in the Holy and Undivided Trinity, ” “On Virtues and Vices, ” “On the Essence of the Soul, ” “On True Philosophy.”
Irishman John Scott Eriugen - an outstanding figure of the Carolingian Renaissance, lived and worked at the court of Karl Lysy, led the palace school. His writings mainly concerned theology and philosophy of the Neoplatonic trend. Eriugena, at the invitation of the head of the Reims Metropolis, took part in a theological discussion, following the results of which he published a treatise On Divine Predestination, which became the mainstay of Christian doctrine. Another significant work of the philosopher, which had a significant impact on the entire Western European scholasticism, was called the work "On the Separation of Nature."
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the English church in the 11th century, a Catholic theologian, thinker and founder of scholasticism, raised a religious scholasticism on English soil. He enjoyed great influence at court and in religious circles. Being uncompromising in matters of canon law, he earned respect in the highest circles of the Catholic clergy, Pope Urban II communicated with him on equal terms.
The Archbishop of Canterbury published many treatises that brought the philosopher fame in Europe. The main of them, historians call Proslogion, Monologion, Cur Deus homo. Anselm was the first to systematize Christian doctrine and used ontology to prove God's existence.
High Middle Ages: John Dunes Scott
A significant contribution to the development of English philosophical thought was made by John Duns Scott, one of the most prominent thinkers of the High Middle Ages. His life is connected with many legends. One of the legends says that Duns Scott, who was naturally slow-moving, received a revelation from above, after which he gained rich spiritual and mental abilities. In adulthood, he showed subtlety and depth of thinking. His original works, A Treatise on the Origin, Natural Knowledge, and the Oxford Compilation, published by his students after the death of Duns Scotus, marked the transition to Renaissance philosophy.
13-14 centuries: sunset of the scholastics
In the middle of the 13th century, the Oxford School developed the traditions of the philosophy of nominalism, which determined the emphasis on the theory of knowledge and the anti-metaphysical orientation. Bright representatives of this specific direction were the English philosophers Roger Bacon and William Ockham. They distinguished between worlds of incomprehensible spirituality and scientifically based knowledge of reality. Thinkers argued that everything in nature happens only according to the laws of physics without a mystical impurity. Roger Bacon first introduced the concept of "experimental science." His most famous works are: Opus Majus, Opus Minus, Opus Tertium and Compendium Studii Philosophiae.
The development of English philosophical thought in the Renaissance
During the Renaissance, Thomas More laid the foundations of modern socialism. His views and understanding of the optimal structure of the socio-political system are set forth in the book Utopia (1516). Having a legal education, he built a clear logical structure of the state system, in which all sectors of society would have equal rights and opportunities, severely criticized the existing order and proposed a reform program.
At the same time, the scientist and English philosopher Francis Bacon stated that only practice can be the criterion of truth, and gave rise to British empiricism and materialism by developing an anti-scholastic method of inductive knowledge. He set forth his ideas and methods in his works On the Dignity and Advancement of Sciences, Experiences, or Moral and Political Instructions, New Atlantis, as well as in religious treatises New Organon, Sacred Thoughts, Confession of Faith. His scientific research in inductive methodology was called the "Bacon method."
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes collaborated with F. Bacon, which left its mark on the worldview of the latter. Hobbes was an adherent of mechanistic materialism, rejecting the existence of incorporeal sensory substance. The thinker also made a significant contribution to the development of the political philosophy of the social contract. In the treatise Leviathan, he first voiced the idea of subordinating the church to the monarch and using religion as a tool for governing the people.
The theory of knowledge of the material essence of being was further developed by the outstanding English philosopher of the 17th century, John Locke. His ideas were inspired by David Hume, who also showed interest in the moral character of society.
Age of Enlightenment
Like the English philosophers of the 18th century, the thinkers of the Enlightenment developed the direction of materialism. The spread of positivism and the theory of inductive knowledge was triggered by the industrial revolution. These areas were engaged in the English philosophers Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer.
C. Darwin, a well-known naturalist and traveler, did not show interest in learning as a child. He found his calling at the University of Edinburgh, when in 1826 he became a student in the study of natural sciences. This scientific direction captured the young man, he began to make rapid progress and already in his youth was accepted into the ranks of the scientific elite. Few people know that in addition to the theory of evolution and a number of serious discoveries, Darwin also owns works on philosophy in which he develops the idea of materialism, recognizing positivism as the only correct direction in the methodology of scientific thought.
Interestingly, the English philosopher Spencer, 7 years before the publication of Darwin's work on the evolution of species, voiced the idea of "survival of the fittest" and recognized natural selection as the main factor in the development of wildlife. Like Darwin, Herbert Spencer was a supporter of inductive knowledge of reality and trusted only scientifically based facts. At the same time, Spencer also developed other areas of philosophical thought: liberalism, the principles of individualism and non-interference, the concept of social institutions. The key work of the philosopher of 10 volumes is “The System of Synthetic Philosophy”.
XIX century
An outstanding British philosopher of the 19th century was known as J. Stuart Mill. He had a brilliant mind: at the age of 12 he began to study higher mathematics, and at 14 he received the full cycle of knowledge of a university student. He was engaged in the development of liberalism, upholding the idea of individual freedom. Together with his wife, Harriet worked on the essays "On the Subordination of Women", "Political Economy". Per Mill wrote the fundamental works "System of Logic", "Utilitarianism", "On Freedom".
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Hegelianism was popularized. The form of absolute idealism was given to this vector by the English philosophers Thomas Green, Francis Bradley and Robin Collingwood. They occupied the conservative positions of the "old school" and were supporters of absolute idealism. Their ideas were presented in the works: Prolegomena to Ethics (T. Green), "Ethical Studies" and "Essays on Truth and Reality" (F. Bradley), "The Idea of History" (R. Collingwood).
